For Queens and other Seekers...

"Who do you think you are, the Queen of Sheba?" This sarcastic question has been asked of me (hopefully in jest) before. Most of us have probably heard of her if not in that same way, then maybe from having read today's passages, 1 Kings 10-11 and 2 Chronicles 9.

This Queen, who was no small potato herself, paid a visit to Solomon to see if all that she'd heard about him was true. Take a look at her reaction to what she saw:

7 "I didn’t believe what was said until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half of it! Your wisdom and prosperity are far beyond what I was told....9 Praise the Lord your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness.”

Miss Q.o.S. was very impressed, wasn't she? So much so that she made a curious statement referencing her praise of Solomon's Lord God. But there is not a shred of evidence that any of this persuaded her to place her own trust or faith in Him.

Reading this account reminds me that we often fail to remember that there is nothing "WE" possess, no wisdom, no wealth, no impressive possession or position that will draw someone in to a personal place of surrender to God as Lord.

All of our striving is in vain if we think we can cleverly, wisely argue someone to believing faith. All of our human effort to establish ourselves as admired, reputable spokesmen and women is futile when we are counting in any way upon those things as convincing accoutrements in our witnessing "arsenal". Only God, through the power of His Holy Spirit, draws anyone to Himself. We are reminded to always be prepared and willing to be used, but the great mistake we would make is assuming that we are ever able to conjure enough credentials or credibility on our own to "impress" someone into believing the Word of God.

The Queen of Sheba was apparently "seeking," but despite having been impressed with all the splendor of his facilities, organization and maybe even his programs and personal brilliance, it wasn't enough. This passage reminded me of the need to pray for our churches as we also pray for ourselves so that we remember the critical truth of Romans 10:17: Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

It is Christ alone who saves. As His ambassadors, we must hide His Word in our hearts because it alone has the power to save.

Father, help us commit your Word to memory so that we are ready and able to give the reason for our great hope when you send seekers our way, and may we never forget that it is by hearing your Word, not being impressed by our wit or wisdom, that anyone comes to faith. Forgive me for forgetting that. In Jesus' Name. Amen.